Musikfest Says Vendors Picked Fairly Director Denies Favoritism

August 03, 1992|by TAD MILLER, The Morning Call

Responding to charges of favoritism in selecting vendors, Musikfest Executive Director Tom Kwiatek said the selection method for the Bethlehem summer festival is fair to local businesses and even gives them an edge.

The charges were made in an unsigned letter to The Morning Call. The letter states that vendors from out of the area are often selected.

A spokesman for a local ice cream store said he shares the views expressed in the letter.

"My gripe is, why give the business to an out-of-town vendor?" said B. Joshi of Nuts About Ice Cream of Bethlehem.

He advocates that Musikfest select local vendors who use local workers.

"People complain the economy is poor," Joshi said. "If you don't do something for the local economy, no wonder."

Kwiatek said the only non-local vendors are those who provide a unique product.

Statistics for 1991 and 1992 indicate that 94 percent of the vendors come from within 50 miles of Bethlehem, Kwiatek said. For 1991, 81 percent of vendors came from within a radius extending to Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. That number is 63.5 percent for 1992.

"We really do look at giving opportunities first to qualified people in the Lehigh Valley who provide food in a professional manner," said Kwiatek. He said some vendors from outside the area believe Musikfest favors local vendors and have accused the festival of running a closed shop.

Joshi said Nuts About Ice Cream has been rejected as a vendor for five years, while Jack & Jill Ice Cream of Bensalem, Bucks County, has several stands. Vendors should be rotated and should be limited to one site, said Joshi.

"You can argue why don't you kick them out and give someone else a chance," Kwiatek said, "but if someone is doing a good job, why get rid of them?"

Still, Kwiatek said Musikfest is considering a system that might satisfy all concerns. The system would rely on the ratings given to vendors' performance. The bottom 20 percent from the previous year would be discouraged from applying the next year, he said. That would allow openings for other vendors and would encourage existing vendors to update menus and maintain quality.

A vendor operating several stands saves space on the crowded festival grounds because merchandise is combined in fewer trucks, said Kwiatek. Kwiatek said Jack & Jill ice cream is sold by a local vendor.

But Joshi said the Bethlehem Dairy Store is the vendor of that brand. One of the two owners is William Burkhardt, a brother-in-law of Kwiatek.

"Ethically, if you want to keep it totally clean, employees and relatives of Musikfest should not be permitted as vendors," he said.

Musikfest does not prohibit relatives of its officials from being vendors, Kwiatek said. A 27-member board of directors allows sufficient votes to reject an unqualified vendor, he said.

Kwiatek cited a case in which a board member was accepted as a vendor a few years ago, but then was rejected two years later.

Joshi also complained that a vendor serves on the selection committee, leaving Musikfest open to criticism of favoritism, he said.

Vendor Berny Lobaido, a selection committee member, gives the vendors' perspective, Kwiatek said. Lobaido does not gain an advantage by being on the committee, and is entitled to be a vendor because he owns a shop on Main Street, said Kwiatek.

A policy of excluding applicants' names from the menus they submit to the committee would reduce the likelihood of favoritism, Kwiatek said, although he concedes the vendor might be obvious based on specialty menu items.

Joshi said Bethlehem vendors should receive special consideration. Because regular customers are pulled from their shops to the festival, he would like the chance to sell to them at Musikfest.

"The local Bethlehem vendors are the ones who get hurt," he said. "My shop is almost a 50 percent drop during Musikfest. If I'm the one getting hurt, give me a chance. If I can't handle it, take it away from me."

Joshi alleged that added consideration may be given to vendors who are also Musikfest sponsors.

Kwiatek responded that although some vendors are sponsors, that is not considered in their application.

"If someone says I'll give you `x' number of dollars for `x' number of stands, I'll tell them you get in the tub with everybody else," Kwiatek said. "The biggest grossers at Musikfest are not sponsors."

Kwiatek said it is unfortunate that whoever wrote the letter did not sign it or bring the concerns to festival officials.

"I can sympathize with vendors who feel they have a good product and we couldn't have them come in," he said. But, he said, he believes the system is fair.